SPECIALIST AREAS

Dr Lachlan McDowell is a consultant Radiation Oncologist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. His specialist interests are in the management of head and neck cancers and complex cutaneous malignancies. He also has an interest in the short and long-term impacts of cancer treatments on patients treated for head and neck cancers.

EDUCATION 

Dr McDowell graduated from the University of Queensland in 2008, and received his Fellowship in Radiation Oncology from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists in 2015. In 2015, he undertook a clinical and research fellowship in head and neck radiation oncology and adult radiation therapy late effects at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Canada. From 2016 to 2022 he worked as a consultant Radiation Oncologist in the head and neck unit at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. He is currently enrolled in a PhD investigating symptom burden and quality of life issues in patients with human papillomavirus-associated oropharyngeal (tonsil and tongue) cancer.

RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS 

Dr McDowell is an active and prominent researcher in the head and neck cancer field. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles in leading oncology and head and neck journals. Dr McDowell’s main research interests include clinical outcomes, symptom burden, health-related quality of life and unmet needs in head and neck cancer patients, and he has a specific interest in addressing fear of cancer recurrence and sexual health in survivors. He has been invited to speak at international and national conferences.

Dr McDowell participates on a number of international and national research committees. He is the co-chair of the Head and Neck Cancer International Group’s Young Investigator subcommittee and the deputy chair of the Guidelines and Protocols subcommittee. He is the deputy chair of the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG) Head and Neck and Skin Cancer working party. He has previously been involved in the development of national treatment guidelines for head and neck cancer as a member of the EVIQ reference committee. 

Dr McDowell has published in internationally recognized oncology journals including Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer, International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics, Radiotherapy and Oncology, Oral Oncology, Head & Neck and the Journal Of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology.

Dr McDowell is an associate section editor on the editorial board of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics and is also an editorial board member for Frontiers in Oncology. He regularly participates in peer review for a number of other leading international oncology journals.

A full list of Dr McDowell’s publications is available here:  

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=lachlan+mcdowell

AWARDS & MEMBERSHIPS 

Dr McDowell is a member of the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG) and Head and Neck Cancer international group and has leadership responsibilities as outlined above. He is also a member of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

Dr McDowell was the recipient of the Victorian and Tasmanian radiation oncology training network award for excellence in teaching in both 2018 and 2020. He has previously received honourable mentions in 2016 and 2017.